THE ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS
MR ILIESA DELANA

Our partners – staff of USP and training facilitators
Trainees
Invited guests
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good afternoon, Namaste and Bula Vinaka to you all

I am glad to be here to officially close this training.

I would like to acknowledge the assistance rendered by the University of the South Pacific. The Ministry continues to partner with USP in delivering training that undoubtedly enhance our vibrant youth sector.

I also acknowledge the trainees from the Lau and Rotuma maritime areas and your commitment to this training. You now join other youths from the Central and Eastern Division who have successfully completed this training and gained accreditation from USP as trained leaders.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ministry of Youth and Sports continues to make inroads in empowering young adults through our non-formal education, empowerment and outreach programs. These are programs run in more formal settings like this or we take the training to the village in our approach to ensure service delivery.

We are building our future leaders through such training. We want to inspire youths to address the daily challenges you face and become role models to others within your community. We want you to become the leaders of tomorrow today.

I hope that you have taken full advantage of this training and have grasped the learning objectives and outcomes. I sincerely hope that this will prove beneficial for you all and you are able recognise your true potential as leaders.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports is mandated to propel the youth sector in Fiji and as such we intend to create a culture of diverse networking among youth groups and stakeholders.

We believe that youths are equally able to contribute to decision making processes and are recognised in the development of our country, your communities and families.

I am also proud that this training promotes social cohesion, tolerance, inclusivity, equity and a basic appreciation of human rights especially towards women and children. I understand that you catered for yourselves at the beginning and I hope that you shared your meals together as part of our approach to social cohesion.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it also ensures that we are promoting equal citizenry and are aligned to the mandate of our Constitution. By providing continuous support, we will harness long-term sustainable prosperity based on mutual respect throughout Fiji.

Dear Trainees, as we conclude the training today, I hope that you have been able to sharpen your individual skill sets. You will now look beyond the horizon at the goals you will set for yourselves; goals that you can and will achieve.

With your newly-acquired skills from this training, I hope that you will demonstrate attributes of quality leadership in your youth clubs and communities.

I strong belief that you will lead with dedication and vision while also training and empowering your friends and colleagues to become excellent leaders.

Remember, our future depends on you as we know the famous saying “youths are the leaders of tomorrow”. But remember to be leaders of tomorrow, you all have to be diligent learners today and every day. Lead with integrity; lead with humility; lead with compassion; lead with fairness and when you do, you will earn respect and others will follow you based on trust.

Young people carry forward our culture, traditions, values, ideologies and aspirations as well as adapting these to the here and now as our nation develops.

Finally I thank you all for your participation and trust that you will all return home better leaders. I now have the pleasure to declare this training closed.

Vinaka, Dhanyabad, Shokran and Thank you all.